Severus was starting to regret taking this job. Despite his previous attitude he'd only resented it but never regretted it. He was regretting it now. They had decided to split up that morning and while only dealing with Black seemed the better option than dealing with all them at once, he was nearing the end of his patience. The ex-convict was thoroughly annoying.
The Muggle world was very much a new experience to Black and Severus was tired of the questions and remarks. Black was inquisitive about what he saw and then, in a typical pureblood fashion, turned his nose up at it. In all honesty, it wasn't a destructive prejudice like that of the Death Eaters, but it was a prejudice and Severus was growing tired of it.
It didn't help in the slightest when they'd suddenly ended up in Spinner's End, his old neighborhood and he found himself talking to an old friend, who'd recognized him immediately despite the years that had passed since he was last there.
"How you been man?" Foster asked, happily. Severus gave him a genuine smile which made Black give him a weird look. So he hadn't smiled in a while, but Foster was somebody who Severus had always found quite funny. The man was always happy and while this was normally cause for the Potion's Master to hate him on sight, Foster was different. Maybe it was the fact that Foster had once saved his life.
"I'm good Foster," he said, slapping the other man's hand and bumping his shoulder in typical manly, one armed hug. Foster slapped his shoulder as they broke apart. "How about you?" It was easy for Severus to slip back into his Muggle World ways, which included bad grammar.
"Been good, Sev," he replied. "Got myself a girl and some little bastards."
"Seriously?" Severus asked, not fully believing it. Foster, a father? He could just imagine how messed up those children would be.
"Yeah I know," the man said, smile still plastered on his face. "It's like really strange. What are you doing back? Your daddy said you were teaching at some fancy school in Scotland." Severus ignored Black's muffled spluttering as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that the greasy git did, in fact, have a 'daddy'.
"Just came to see him," Severus said, not entirely untruthfully. He was only in Spinner's End because he needed something from his parent's house. His mother had died some ten years earlier but his father was still there. He stayed in touch with the man through Owl post which was something the man was still getting used to. He was a Muggle who'd managed to do the impossible by marrying a pureblooded witch from a Dark family. But nobody ever said his family was normal.
"Yeah, you talk to your brother lately?" Foster asked and this time the Muggle did hear Black's spluttering. Both turned to give the strangely dressed man weird looks, "Is he okay?" Foster looked a little concerned at the sight of Black choking on his own spit.
"He's fine," Severus said slowly, his tone telling the Muggle that it was indeed not normal behavior. He turned away and continued talking to his old friend. "I haven't heard from Reckus in months," he said and Foster nodded.
"I thought as much," he replied. "Reck just up and left one day. Haven't seen him since, though your Dad seems to think that everything's okay. Said he left to find his own little adventure." Severus wasn't overly comforted by that. His father was inclined to believe that very little was wrong in their family no matter how much it wasn't.
"Yeah, well thanks for telling me," he said hoping to bring the conversation to a close. "Nice seeing you."
"Yeah you too," Foster replied as Severus forcibly led Black in the other direction.
"Could you maybe act any crazier?" he hissed when they were far enough away from Foster that the other man had no hope of hearing.
"What are you talking about?" Black asked indignantly.
"The stranger you act the more attention you get, which in this neighborhood is not a good thing," he snapped. "So, please act a little more Muggle. And stop spluttering. Is it really such a surprise that I have a father?" When Black didn't answer Severus shook his head in disgust and continued up the street. He heard Black hurrying to catch up.
"C'mon, Snape," he said. "You have to admit this is a little weird."
"How so?" Severus replied, knowing full well how awkward it was for Black to learn he was anything but a soulless monster, and ignoring the fact entirely. It would do Black some good to learn that even though they hated each other, Severus most certainly had friends and family. It would also do Black some good to let go of some his pureblood prejudice, no matter how much he insisted he didn't even have it.
"Well," Black floundered as he caught up. "It's just, you know, you never really had any friends at Hogwarts." Severus couldn't quite contain his laugh at that.
"Oh please Black," he said. "I had friends at Hogwarts. You were just too caught up in yourself to notice."
"I'm talking real friends," Black said hotly, trying to defend himself. "Not those friendships you have in Slytherin which are really nothing more than alliances."
"So am I," Severus responded. He stopped suddenly and turned to look at Black in the eye. "Don't assume things Black. Your track record at is awful enough without adding more bad marks to it." Black's eyebrows crinkled in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Did you or did you not assume that you knew exactly who Peter Pettigrew was?" Severus asked. Black looked liked he'd been slapped. Severus just smirked and turned towards the house they'd stopped in front of.
"That's really low, Snape," he said as Severus reached porch. The Potions Master turned to answer him.
"Yes it is," he acknowledged. "But it's low, cruel world. Deal with it." He smirked again and turned his back on the man. He opened the door to his childhood home and went inside. He left it open in case Black decided he didn't want to wait on the sidewalk like a stray mutt.
Hermione was getting increasingly annoyed. She almost wished Snape was there to glare the Weasley siblings into silence. Ron was trying to pick a fight with her and Ginny was just too naive. They'd gone to a park not too far from their motel and while it was the middle of the day, there was still some serious activity going on. Not the toss a Frisbee, walk the dog, kids birthday party type of activity. No, it wasn't that kind of park.
There were kids sure, but everybody had long been disillusioned to the innocence that the people in the park hoped to portray. That is, everybody but the two redheads she had with her.
"Stop looking around," she said through her teeth to Ginny. The girl snapped her head back towards Hermione.
"Why?" she asked, in a volume Hermione considered too loud.
"Because you look like you're looking," she replied. "You're getting too much attention."
"So?" Ron asked, again in a too loud voice. Hermione didn't answer them until they reached a large grove of trees and were hidden from the view of the basketball courts. She stopped walking and turned to glare at the two redheads.
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's dangerous?" she snarled. "If not for you, for me. I have to come back to this city every summer. So, please, try not to paint an even bigger target on my back."
"What are we doing here?" Ron asked, purposefully ignoring her statements.
"We're here to get some help," she said. "Now stay here, and I swear to God if you move, I'll tell Snape. And he'll kill you." Both glared but didn't make a move to follow her as she went further into the trees.
"Dad!" Severus called out. The house was fairly dark so he wasn't sure where his father was.
"In here!" came the reply and Severus moved towards the kitchen. When he got there he was instantly enveloped in a hug by a rather large man who smelled his typical smell of wood chips and beer. "Sev! What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Dad," he said in a resigned tone that his father missed completely. "I came to get something." If he was expecting his father to be hurt or angry that the only reason he came was to get something rather than to see him, he'd have been a fool. Letters were enough for the man. They lived two separate lives in two separate worlds. It had long strained their relationship.
"Yeah, what for? Something of your Ma's?" he asked as he lit a cigarette.
"Yes," he replied. What else would he come for? The TV? "Where are Ma's things?"
"In the attic," his Dad replied. "Reck and I moved it all up after she died."
"Where is Reckus?" he asked, honestly curious about where his little brother had run off to. Tobias Snape just shrugged.
"His last postcard came from New York in America," he said pointing to the fridge where Severus saw several postcards taped up. "He's probably already moved on though."
"Why'd he leave?" Severus asked.
"Said he wanted a little adventure before he died," Tobias replied. "You know like you." Severus glanced at the floor fighting down the mixed feelings that always came when someone told him Reckus wanted to be just like him. The boy hadn't been born with Magic and while he was fourteen years younger, Reckus had taken to looking at Severus as his role model. It made his Death Eater years all the more shameful.
"Yeah," he said lowly. He glanced at the table and pretended he didn't notice the beer bottles and white powder. It wasn't his responsibility to fix his father. The man was somewhat out of it. Either approaching a high or drunkenness, or both. "Well, I'll just grab this thing and go." He turned and left his father at the table.
He found Black in the hallway staring at a picture of him holding an eight year old Reckus. "That's my brother and I," he said. Black jumped in surprise and whirled around.
"I didn't know you had a brother," he said.
"What you don't know about me could fill several libraries Black," Severus retorted. Black didn't seem quite able to rise up to the bait.
"What are we doing here Snape?" he asked.
"We're here to collect something," he said.
"What?" Black pressed.
"A book," he replied figuring that Black would find out anyways. "It has a ritual that will tell me exactly where the boy is." Black looked a little shocked and more than a little pissed.
"You've had this all along? Why are you just using it now?" he snarled.
"Because I've only just been placed in charge of this damnable search," Severus snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Black threw back viciously, the idea that Severus had withheld a method of finding his Godson bringing up a rage only rarely seen. It was usually reserved for only Death Eaters and Snape on a bad day.
"My mother is a Dark Witch you idiot," he said, and Black actually took a step back as Severus's magic pushed against him. Hard. "I am a Dark Wizard. Do you really think Dumbledore is going to allow a Dark ritual to take place in his school?"
"Then why not do it outside of Hogwarts?" Black asked, regaining his footing. "He couldn't do anything to you after you'd done it and you know he wouldn't allow the Ministry to prosecute you over it." Severus sneered at that. The man really was an idiot.
"Please, Black," he said in a mocking tone. "You really think I'm going to take the time to do that? For a Potter?" Black shook his head in disbelief.
"Then why bother now you snake bastard?"
"Because now there's something in it for me," he replied silkily.
"Like what?"
"Turns out Granger has some rather…useful information." The girl had spent a total of three hours convincing him of this plan. It wasn't until she agreed to hand over his old Potion's book that he agreed to go along. There were some rather incriminating things hidden in that book and it was of little surprise that the girl knew exactly how to find it all, what it all meant, and that he was the Half-Blood Prince. If the Ministry ever got their hands on the book not even Albus Dumbledore could get him out of Azkaban.
He'd invented several spells and potions that he'd hidden within those pages magically that were a Dark Lord level in both sadistic and dark nature. He needed that book back and hidden. The information was much too useful to destroy outright. He'd even mentally applauded Granger for the rather Slytherin move.
"What information?" Black asked.
"None of your business," he sneered. "Wait here." He brushed by Black and up to the second floor where the entrance to the attic was to get Darkness Abounds: The Ultimate Collection of Rituals.
Hermione moved through the trees until she came to a clearing littered with cigarette buds, empty cans, and scorch marks where the ground had briefly caught fire. They were all actually quite lucky that the entire grove hadn't been burned down.
The Gryffindor cursed her luck when she saw it completely empty. She'd been hoping to find another runaway. It may not have been her brightest idea to put pressure on Jack and Jill but with Snape and possibly Glitter backing her up she felt somewhat confident. Besides, if the plan worked like it was supposed to she wouldn't be in danger. If one little step backfired she'd be exiled to Magicdom. It would be easy to convince Dumbledore to let her stay at the Burrow with the Weasleys, no matter how much she really didn't want to. Or even with Dean in Manchester.
Sure she'd lose the Half-Blood Prince's book and all its secrets to Snape, or at least she'd lose the original. You'd think the Slytherin Head of House would have caught that loophole but it wasn't like she was going to point it out.
Sighing she turned and went back to the two purebloods waiting for her. She found them in the exact same place, thankfully.
"C'mon," she said as she walked straight past them and out of the trees.
"Where are we going now?" Ginny whined out and Hermione winced at the tone.
"I want to show you something," the other girl replied mysteriously and with a smirk. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad." She didn't see the two siblings share a look of doubt although she would bet money that it had happened.
"This is amazing," Ginny breathed out quietly. Hermione gave her a genuine smile. She'd thought the other girl would like it. She seemed like the type to; even Ron had lost his usual hostility to gaze around in fascination.
Hermione had led them to a much different park a fifteen minute train ride away. There was always a lot of activity there, this much more of a much more innocent kind than the last. There were caricature artists, picnickers, dog walkers, playing children, family reunions, food stands, and, her favorite, the street musicians.
There was one group not too far away playing "After the Rain Has Fallen", by Sting. People were dancing to it and laughing. It looked like a lot of fun. The three Gryffindors were seated on the edge of a large fountain, watching it all.
"This is my favorite place in London," Hermione confessed. "I go here to get away from the problems. From reality."
"Why did you show us this?" Ginny asked. Hermione gave a deep sigh.
"Because I think you need to see it," she said. "There's more to the world than Hogwarts, Dumbledore, and Voldemort." She ignored the shivers with a practiced ease. She was one of the few who would say the name. She thought it ridiculous not to. Dumbledore had heard her say it once during a verbal spat with some seventh year Slytherins. He'd gotten a strange look his eye. Hermione would almost call it a revered respect.
"We thought the Muggle World was mostly like this," Ron said suddenly. Hermione was somewhat shocked to hear him speak, and so politely too. She knew he was mad at her. "Dad always tells us about how good it is and how amazing the people and customs are. They're a little different without the Magic but he still thinks there's something to be learned from them." Hermione was fully shocked now. She hadn't thought Mr. Weasley's Muggle policy went beyond that of some strange hobby.
"In a way he's right," she said. "Both worlds could learn a lot from each other. And the culture here is amazing in its own right, same as the Wizarding one."
"If it's so amazing then why is it that all we've seen are such bad things and people?" Ron asked. He didn't sound challenging, just curious. Frankly, it was throwing Hermione off balance. She had expected to have another head butting with him over this conversation, but he seemed to be displaying a maturity she hadn't known he possessed.
"There's good and bad in every world," she replied. "You've seen more of the bad because that's where we've been looking. Potter's in a place that isn't easy to escape. They have their own sense of pride, even their own sense of right and wrong."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, curious.
"Well, the runaways are a pretty tight knit with their own kind of community. At the moment Jack and Jill are at the top, but Potter seems to be pretty high up there as well. The only comparison in the Wizarding World that I can think of is the Death Eaters." The girl looked horrified at that. Hermione continued quickly, hoping she hadn't turned them off anymore than they already were.
"They're a fighting unit with a sense of community, and their own rules within another system. That's how the runaways work, same as every other gang in town," she explained. They didn't seem to fully get it. "This would be a lot easier to explain if you were a Muggleborn." Ginny shifted a bit and then asked another question.
"You told Professor Snape that you didn't want to start a gang war. What did you mean?" Hermione gave another sigh before taking pity and explaining as best she could.
"Jack and Jill don't want us anywhere near Potter," she said. "They're hiding something about him and pushing them is a very dangerous thing to do. The only way I really could start something would be to align with another gang and use them as the battering ram. That would only push the streets into a war. Jack and Jill have been encroaching on territory for quite some time according to Glitter. Everybody's mad at them and all it would take would be a small push."
"But now you don't seem to care," Ginny probed.
"To an extent," Hermione agreed. "The plan is to use the gangs I can to get what I want without a full scale bloodbath. Just enough pressure to make Jack and Jill back off a bit but not enough to spark a war."
"This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be," Ron grumbled.
"Just because they're Muggles doesn't mean they're stupid simpletons," Hermione said. "There's more to the Muggles than meets the eye."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked thoroughly confused.
"There's magic here too," Hermione said with a wide smile. "You just have to look a little harder."
"You're talking about the Muggleborns," Ginny stated.
"No," Hermione answered, shaking her head. "I'm not."
"Then what are you talking about?" Ron asked getting snappish again.
"I'm talking about the people here," she said. "And the things you'll never know about them because you'll never take the time to look. Even your father doesn't really care. Sure he collects sparkplugs and screwdrivers and thinks he knows what he's talking about, but in the end, the Wizarding World is nothing more than a society of hiding people with their heads up their arses."
The two redheads had no response for that. Hermione ignored the strange looking siblings in favor of watching the street band and dancing people. It was magical.